Kim was an award winning singer/songwriter/keyboardist originally from Toronto, Canada. She passed away October 23, 2006 after a long struggle with MCS, which developed after a gas leak and pesticide poisoning, among other things that she was exposed to during a short period of time.
She may have left us physically, but her music is still with us.
The following song is from her album titled “songs from a porcelain trailer”:
Posted in Environmental Health, Housing, MCS/ES, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Awareness Day
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Awareness Day
May 12, 2014
WHEREAS Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Awareness Day aims to raise awareness and end the stigma and discrimination that accompanies these chronic illnesses.
Over 568,000 individuals living in Ontario are afflicted with one of the three following chronic illnesses: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia or Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. Once diagnosed, an individual is often ill for years with as many as 70 per cent of sufferers becoming disabled for life.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a neurological and autoimmune disease characterized by overwhelming fatigue, pain, headaches, cardiac symptoms, immune disorders, dizziness and balance problems.
Fibromyalgia is characterized by severe musculoskeletal pain and tenderness in many areas of the body along with fatigue and sleep dysfunction, generalized or regional stiffness and in some cases neurological and cognitive symptoms. This pain can become strong enough to prevent people from working or engaging in physical activities for months and even years.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, also called Environmental Sensitivities or Intolerance, are initiated by an unusually severe sensitivity or allergy-like reaction to many different kinds of pollutants such as chemicals, perfumes and other environmental triggers.
Each year on May 12, communities across Ontario will join the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Association of Ontario to increase awareness and educate the medical profession about these chronic conditions. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Awareness Day will raise funds to support the crucial services provided by the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Association of Ontario and other organizations.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Mayor Rob Ford, on behalf of Toronto City Council, do hereby proclaim May 12, 2014 as “Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Awareness Day” in the City of Toronto.
♦
With thanks to MEAO (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Association of Ontario)
It’s that time of year again. Welcome to MCS “Awareness” Month!
Barriers to access can be physical, attitudinal or systemic. Conveniences can also create barriers. If you are unable to remove a barrier to accessibility, consider what else can be done to provide services to people with disabilities. No-one should live without safe access to the necessities of life.
What is disability? (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
“Disability” covers a broad range and degree of conditions, some visible and some not visible. A disability may have been present from birth, caused by an accident, or developed over time. There are physical, mental and learning disabilities, mental disorders, hearing or vision disabilities, epilepsy, drug and alcohol dependencies, environmental sensitivities, and other conditions.”
Removing barriers and designing inclusively
Persons with disabilities face many kinds of barriers every day. These can be physical, attitudinal or systemic. …
Identifying and removing barriers also makes good business sense. As well as meeting the needs of customers or employees with disabilities, removing barriers can also help other people…
Employers, unions, landlords and service providers can start by doing an accessibility review of their facilities, services and procedures to see what barriers exist. You can then make an accessibility plan and begin to remove the barriers.
It is also helpful to create an accessibility policy and a complaints procedure. These steps will help you remove existing barriers and avoid making new ones. The best way to prevent barriers is to design inclusively…
Barriers aren’t just physical. Taking steps to prevent “ableism” – attitudes in society that devalue and limit the potential of persons with disabilities – will help promote respect and dignity, and help people with disabilities to fully take part in community life…
The duty to accommodate
Even when facilities and services are designed as inclusively as possible, you may still need to accommodate the individual needs of some people with disabilities. Under the Code, unions, landlords and service providers have a legal “duty to accommodate” persons with disabilities. The goal of accommodation is to allow people with disabilities to equally benefit from and take part in services, housing or the workplace.
Accommodation is a shared responsibility. Everyone involved, including the person asking for accommodation, should work together, exchange relevant information, and look for accommodation solutions together…
From the News Release:
“The province is providing nearly $560,000 to support two new annual fellowships over three years for a total of six new fellowships. They will allow family medicine graduates to complete an extra year of focused training in environmental health, and will help primary care providers like family doctors offer the right care to assess, diagnose and treat environmentally-linked health issues.”
“Environmental health is an emerging public health field that examines the relationship between the environment and human health. This includes the role of the environment in contributing to serious health conditions that can be disabling and even life threatening, such as environmental sensitivities, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other chronic, complex disorders. ”
“There is a growing recognition that our environment and our health are connected. Through these new fellowships, we can develop greater understanding of the links between health and the environment in order to provide better care to those suffering from complex chronic illnesses.”
~
~ Deb Matthews
Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
“The study of the environment’s effects on human health is an important emerging field of research. Support for investigating environmental impacts on health is emblematic of our government’s commitment to strengthen healthy communities.”
~
~ Jim Bradley
Minister of Environment
Full News Release:
From the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA):
Environmental Sensitivities and Housing
“Every year, CERA receives a significant number of calls from tenants being made ill from the poor indoor air quality in their apartment buildings. Most of these individuals suffer from environmental sensitivities and are particularly sensitive to contaminants in the air. With funding assistance from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, CERA recently launched HomeSafe, an initiative to educate tenants and multi-unit housing providers on strategies to improve indoor air quality and create healthier living environments.”
The resources section has some excellent documents that are designed to “help landlords, property managers, and co-operative and condominium boards of directors reduce the health impacts associated with multi-unit housing and create living environments that are as safe and “green” as possible… and make their properties more attractive…”
For example:
Posted in Disability, Environmental Sensitivities, Healthy Environment, Housing, Human Rights, Indoor Air Quality, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Tagged accessibility, allergies, apartment buildings, CERA, condo, Fragrance, healthy materials, indoor air quality, landlord, MCS, MCS/ES, Multi-Unit Housing Providers, property management, renovations, repairs, smoke, tenant
Many of us have been waiting for action for decades, let’s hope that this is the project that finally makes it happen. It has been a long time coming…
‘RECOGNITION, INCLUSION AND EQUITY – THE TIME IS NOW: PERSPECTIVES OF ONTARIANS LIVING WITH ES/MCS, ME/CFS AND FM’
From Varda Burstyn:
At long last, I am writing to let you know about four new groundbreaking reports – products of a 5-year initiative that I and colleagues began in 2008 – that present exciting new research on the three environmentally linked conditions of ES/MCS, ME/CFS and FM, and that develop a wonderful new model of care and support for those living with the conditions in Ontario.
Posted in Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Health Care, Human Rights, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Policy, Public Health
Tagged accessibility, CFS/ME, children, EHS, environmental health, fibromyalgia, FM, health, healthcare, MCS, MCS/ES, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Ontario, petrochemicals, sensitive to pollution, Varda Burstyn, wi-fi
I’ve assembled prevalence statistics from Canada and the US into one place, including images and links to documents with more information.
Included are links and images with Canadian stats for MCS/ES, FM, and ME/CFS, and US stats for MCS. I will update to include more stats from more countries when I have reliable sources for them. Please share any that you are aware of.
The new page is located at the top of this site under the MCS/ES page, or via this link:
Statistics for MCS/ES, FM and ME/CFS
Here is a sample of what you will find there:
According to The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and Statistics Canada, between 2005 and 2010 the rates of people diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), Fibromyalgia (FM) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in Canada increased significantly.
The number of people diagnosed with MCS increased by 31%
The number of people diagnosed with FM increased by 15%
The number of people diagnosed with CFS increased by 24%
♦
Chronic Conditions Prevalence Comparisons
(for perspective)
From: QUEST Newsletter Summer 2011 # 88
PDF http://www.mefmaction.com/images/stories/quest_newsletters/QUEST88Summer2011.pdf
♦
You can find all the statistics, links and images in the ‘Statistics for MCS/ES, FM and ME/CFS’ page at the top of this site under the MCS/ES page, or click on this link:
https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.wordpress.com/mcses/statistics-for-mcses-fm-and-mecfs/
♦
With gratitude to the National ME/FM Action Network for much of the material.
Enlightening (in a relative way)…
Before watching, it might be helpful to get really grounded and plan how you will deal with the emotions that come up.
These interviews and the roundtable discussion were filmed in Sante Fe, New Mexico in 1995. Parts of this piece are in the full documentary, Homesick: Living With Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.
Also check out MCS Under Siege by Ann McCampbell, MD
http://annmccampbell.com/publicationswritings/publication-1/
Learn more about the film Homesick at: http://www.homesick-video.com
Posted in Environmental Health, Human Rights, MCS/ES, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Pesticides
Tagged Chemical Injury, child health, GWS, MCS, MCS housing, New Mexico, Sante Fe, video
Are you sick from sick schools?
Teachers and students suffer when school buildings are not healthy, sometimes even developing permanently disabling conditions as a result.
MCS/ES. Asthma. Autism. Learning disabilities. Behavior problems…
Unhealthy school buildings can present real barriers to access.
It shouldn’t be like that. You shouldn’t lose your health or your job or have your child’s health and future suffer because there’s something unhealthy in the air at school.
There are enough examples of the benefits of a healthy learning environment over an unhealthy one (from toxic chemicals, molds and wi-fi for example), and tools for how to make change happen.
Here are some resources (in no particular order):
I have finally added a Page to the top of the blog that deals with MCS/ES under the following headings:
MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, etc
Environmental Sensitivities
Categorical guidelines for levels of disability
Getting diagnosed
ICD Codes
Treatment Options
Mind and Brain
Support
Human Rights and Accommodations
https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.wordpress.com/mcses/
Posted in Disability, Environmental Health, Environmental Sensitivities, Health Care, Human Rights, MCS/ES, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Tagged brain retraining, Categorical guidelines for levels of disability, Chemical Injury, EHS, environmental sensitivities, exposure history, fibromyalgia, Getting diagnosed, Human Rights and Accommodations, ICD Codes, Lyme Disease, MCS, meditation, Mind and Brain, sensitive to pollution, Sick Building Syndrome, support, symptoms of exposure to petrochemicals, TILT, Treatment Options
 | linda @ Seriously "S… on MCS/ES |
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| Tabatha Schnorr on The CDC and MCS |
| linda @ Seriously "S… on MCS and Housing |
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Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 